Look Up

“I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the agreement between me and the earth.”  Genesis 9:13

On my morning run, the rain mixed with sleet and was pelting my face.  The clouds were dark, and I was cold.  I wondered why I decided to run outside today.  Puddles were everywhere so I had to keep my eyes focused on the ground so I did not run through the deep puddles and get wetter than I currently was.  Then the sun burst through the clouds even though it was still raining.  I looked up and then I saw it – the most beautiful full rainbow across the western sky.  It encircled the church where I was running in the parking lot.  It was brilliant in color contrasted with the dark sky.  I lifted my eyes and immediately raised my hands in praise to God.

In the gloomy darkness and pelting rain, God sent His rainbow of promise.  I worshipped on my morning run.  My grumbling turned to praise when I looked up.  I saw cars going by and wondered if they looked up and saw God’s beauty.  It would be easy to miss if your focus was looking down.

When we look down – when we only see the brokenness, problems, and the hurt – life is painful and dreary like the dark clouds and rain.  God does not always take away the storms, but He always promises to be with us through the storms of our lives.  Sometimes God even sends a sign like a rainbow reminding us that He is with us and will do what He promised.  God will walk us through the storm.  We just need to look for Him.  Where are you looking?

The promise of the rainbow is found in the book of Genesis.  God promised he would not destroy the earth again by flood.  God promises are throughout the Bible.  God promises to love us, forgive us, hold our hand, give us grace and eternal life and so much more.  Do you trust God enough that He will fulfill His promises?

Many of you have been hurt by others breaking their promise to you.  Others of you have prayed for healing and only received pain.  You prayed for justice, and evil seems to keep winning.  You cried out to God, and you still feel alone.  It is hard to look up and praise God.  It seems easier to look down and muddle through life.

I have been walking recently through the loss of my companion dog, Annie.  I have also been listening to the grief of new clients and their struggle to live into life.  When we focus on the hurt and pain, we stay in the darkness of the storm.  It is difficult to trust in the storm, but that is what I keep trying to do.

I still trust the Lord to hold my hand because God has been faithful in the past.  His Word promises that He will never leave me.  He loves me and walks with me.  Jesus gives me His Spirit to live within me.  I know God has held my hand throughout my life.  I trust God even when the storm is raging around me.  Trust is more than how I am currently feeling.  It is knowing God is with me even if I do not feel it.  When I look up to the sky and let go of the earthly worries and struggles, I only see the light of God’s presence. 

We look down not just in the storms but in the dailyness of life. We get caught in a routine and sometimes it just becomes mundane and lifeless.  Task after task.  Work after work.  Just getting by at times.  We then focus on the negative, the loneliness and lack of fulfillment.  We just look down and it creates a sadness and a wonder if this is all there is to life.  Only when we look beyond the demands and emptiness of this world and look up to seek God’s presence do we find life.

I am learning to look up more.  Sometimes I see a rainbow, sometimes I see the blue sky and sunshine, sometimes I see the stars, and sometimes I see the darkness, the rain, and the clouds.  But every time I look up, I trust that God is there.  God wants me to focus on His presence.  To trust Him.  To hold His hand through the storms and through the pain and hurt. To hold His hand in the dailyness of life.  To look up and speak His name.  Look up!